Impact of Flipped Classroom on Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Chinese EFL Undergraduates’ Argumentative Essays: A Pilot Study

This research adopts a quantitative-qualitative mixed-methods approach to examine the role of flipped classroom pedagogy in fostering critical thinking skills in English argumentative essays among Chinese EFL undergraduates. Specifically, the pilot study compares the mean scores of the pretest and posttest, focusing on the performance in English argumentative essays between the experimental group (N=32) and the control group (N=28). It investigates the impact of the flipped classroom on developing critical thinking skills in argumentative essays. It explores the experiences and perceptions of Chinese EFL learners regarding how the flipped classroom enhances their critical thinking skills in such essays. The ultimate goal is to assist these students in improving their writing quality, achieving better academic outcomes, and enhancing their competitiveness in future job markets. The significance of this research lies in its potential to promote the adoption of the flipped classroom as an effective pedagogical tool for supporting Chinese EFL undergraduates. The findings indicate that the experimental group’s mean scores steadily increased throughout the intervention, providing robust evidence of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach in fostering critical thinking skills in Chinese EFL undergraduates’ argumentative essays writing. We hope this study will inspire more researchers to propose meaningful pedagogical implications and recommendations to improve teaching and learning processes within EFL contexts.